Mylene Dizon is excited about this shoot.

“When you guys called about this, I was so happy and excited,” she tells Allure Philippines, her eyes wide. “I said, ‘Wow!!!’”—and here, she throws her arms up in the air for emphasis—“This is the first time in my 28 years in this business that I’m going to see something like this—that we are showing this much pride about this skin color!’”

She settles back in her chair from her exclamation, and makes a little face. “I’m so tired of brands using that promotion of ‘You’re going to look prettier if you’re whiter’ or ‘If you’re dark, you’re ugly.’ I hate that,”—and here, the word hate is laced with pure emotion—”and I think we should all be careful, kasi tumatatak sa mga bata yan.”

Dizon goes on to expound about the importance of representation for young children. “These messages that we put in these ads, they’re so quickly absorbed. We should all be careful of what we say, or what we portray as beautiful, or what we pressure children to do or to look like—especially since the influence of all types of media is extremely strong right now, since children as young as three or four years old are hooked on gadgets.”

Asked to whiten her skin—by those closest to her

For years, Dizon’s name has come up when the topic of the morena minority in Philippine showbiz is breached. Professionally, she doesn’t recall any negative experiences or having to deal with any issues because of her skin color, nor has she ever felt limited in her scope of roles. 

“I would like to think that the quality of work that I can give the industry precedes me,” Dizon shares. “And also, I’ve been in the business for 28 years already. Alam na nila, ‘Oo, morena yan.’ Hindi nila ako i-ca-cast ever na ang requirement ay ethereal whiteness.”

It’s when her family life is brought up that her more vulnerable experiences about her skin tone come to the surface.

“My family,” she shares, “they always ask why I don’t make myself maputi, or why I choose to be morena, or why I don’t use whitening products. It’s always brought up whenever I see them.” 

She launches into a micro skit, changing her voice with each sentence. “‘Ay Mylene, ang itim itim mo, ‘no! Gusto mo talaga yan? Maitim ka?’” And to demonstrate how these comments affect her, she adds “Ka-level ang mga ito ng ‘Ang taba mo, ‘no?’ at ‘Hindi ka pa rin ikakasal?’”

She chuckles at this, but you can see that the words grate.

BJ Pascual

Nothing can stop her from getting outdoors—not even her skin color

Dizon, although naturally morena, is also an avid sports enthusiast, spending most of her time outdoors, enjoying an active lifestyle. And for decades, here in the Philippines, those who are darker-skinned—women, especially—have always been discouraged from spending time outdoors, for fear of their already-tan skin turning a deeper shade of brown. 

Once all the puzzle pieces come together, it’s easier to understand the breadth of Dizon’s experience, which is rooted in long-standing cultural and social norms about skin color. But Dizon has always stood her ground, choosing to be true to herself in many ways.

“I love being outside. I love the ocean,” Dizon says with all the conviction of a lover deeply infatuated. “I feel like I am most alive when I’m outdoors. To me, not being able to enjoy the outdoors, that to me is not living.”

One thing Dizon loves to do is surf, and her love for the waves has brought her to many places all over the Philippine islands. But she shares that, in pursuit of the perfect wave, she has also come face to face with many faces—and shades—of Filipina beauty. Perhaps these faces—and shades—do not fall under the long-upheld, snow-white ideals of what is beautiful, but Dizon begs to differ.

“I travel a lot to surf,” she says, “and I see mga Pilipina from all over the country and, man, ang ganda natin. Ang ganda ganda ng kulay natin. I really want more people to be proud of the skin tone that we are born with here in the Philippines. I wish more people would see the beauty in our color.”

For Dizon, being able to live life on her terms is a non-negotiable, and she begins to share why it seems, to others, she just can’t sit pretty under the shade. “We have a very short amount of time roaming this earth,” she explains. “I just feel like I should do everything that I want to do. I should be able to fit everything into that short amount of time. That’s always been my mindset— I want to do more, I want to try this, try that. Gusto kong makipagsiksik silang lahat.”

That includes living in, and loving, the skin she was born with—no matter what shade it gets. She shares, “I’ve always embraced being a morena. I am proud of my skin color—my Filipina color. And I am proud of all the morenas out there who are courageous enough to also be proud of their color. I think it’s so beautiful.”

Photographer: BJ Pascual. Makeup: Gery Penaso. Hair: Paul Nebres. Fashion styling: Maica Tady of Qurator, assisted by Claire Fernando, Shark Tanael, and Bea Panganiban. 

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